May 28, 2015

Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man Will Rev Your Engine

Jonathan Ollivier smoulders as "the car man," photo courtesy of Chronicle Live

Whenever
a production of Matthew Bourne’s comes to London, you can be sure that I’ll be
there with bells on. This time around, I attended a performance of The Car Man for its short one week run
at New Wimbledon Theatre. For my previous reviews (always bound to be glowing)
of Bourne’s work, you can read about Swan
Lake here and Edward Scissorhands here. Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen
is having a bit of a moment, as I mentioned in my previous post about Carmen Disruption at the Almeida Theatre(find it hereif you would like a brief overview of Carmen’s storyline).

New Wimbledon Theatre

To begin
with, Carmen is already a very
sexually charged opera. When you pair that with Bourne’s sexually charged
choreography in what he proclaims is a “dance thriller,” magic happens. Take
the original Spanish cigarette factory and turn the set into an American 196os neon-lit
garage-diner called Dino’s. Add in the famous scores that have been arranged by
Terry Davies. What you’re left with is a testosterone-fuelled vision of the
tale involving sweat, sacrifice, and of course, lots of sex.

Man wanted very much indeed...photo courtesy of Johan Persson

A giant
sign with imposing letters welcomed the audience to the small Italian-American town
of Harmony, population 365. Just like the idealistic-sounding Pleasantville,
Harmony is also the actual name of several locations in the United States. For
the purpose of the performance, the sufficiently deceptive and clearly ironic
name choice inferred the calm before the very big storm.

When an
incredibly masculine and muscular newcomer called Luca (played by hunky
Jonathan Ollivier) arrived, he shook things up in ways he couldn’t have
possibly imagined. Ollivier was precisely the dominating male lead The Car Man called for. He was equal
parts brawny and believable, supported by a stellar cast and set design by Lez
Brotherston. A car positioned on the left hand of the stage was the perfect
prop for the dancers to slide all over or use for a quick sex romp.

Lana, one-third of the love triangle, photo courtesy of Chronicle Live

The
modern twist unexpectedly showed itself by way of bisexuality, or perhaps what
we could call curiosity. Either way, the handsome stranger not only began to
toy with the heart of a woman (Lana, Dino’s wife), but also of a man (Angelo, a
bullied hired help). This made Luca the ultimate lusted-after individual,
appealing to both sexes, each blissfully unaware of the tangled web “the car
man” was beginning to weave.

Angelo faces off against Lana for Luca's affections, photo courtesy of Chronicle Live

The Car Man was the most erotic of Bourne’s productions
that I have seen to date. My mouth was on the verge of being agape for its
entirety, but my eyes certainly compensated by staying wide open. My friend and
I nudged each other and giggled like schoolgirls during the shower scene, where
the macho car mechanics stripped down to nothing but a towel, hiding their
modesty (just about) by a strategically placed horizontal bar.

No caption necessary *ahem,* photo courtesy of Johan Persson

The
dancing was raunchy and steamy as the dancers’ bodies were slick with
perspiration. Mimicking sexual positions, there was no shortage of gyrating or
thrusting and occasional nudity. The greasy garage men in their oil-stained
wife beaters chased after the women who provocatively teased them. The energy
reverberating from the stage pulsated intensely as audience members most likely
fell into one of two categories: squirming in their seat or becoming a bit hot
under the collar.

It's getting hot in here...photo courtesy of Chronicle Live

The plot
thickened when the devilishly good-looking Luca and the female object of his
desire were fooling around and her brutish husband Dino (played by Alan
Vincent, the original “car man”) returned. One thing led to another and Dino was
killed. When the police arrived, Luca’s male lover seemed to be in the wrong
place at the wrong time. In a flurry of confusion and cunning quick thinking on
the part of Lana, the innocent Angelo was dragged away by police, leaving the
guilty two to live happily ever after…

Lana's husband Dino (Alan Vincent, the original "car man") catches her in the act with Luca, photo courtesy of Johan Persson

…or not.
The saying goes “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” but in this case we
would need to replace the woman with a man. Revenge is a dish best served cold
and the pair who escaped their fate would soon receive their comeuppance after
Angelo’s jailbreak. If you know the story, then you know that it ends with a
very literal bang. I’ll leave it up to you to find out who in the love triangle
receives the brunt of the blow.

In Angelo's case, "Hell hath no fury like a man scorned," photo courtesy of Johan Persson

Although The Car Man does mirror Carmen, Carmenultimately gave birth to the car man.The Car Man stands
completely on its own and brings something new to the Carmen circuit. Whether Luca, Lana, or Angelo represents Carmenis up to individual interpretation, but
Bourne did not intend to capture another Carmen. He instead created a car man and beautifully at
that. Bourne loves to push the boundaries and The Car Man certainly surpassed my expectations, quickly securing
itself a top spot alongside my other favorite of his, Swan Lake. As the reworked performance came to its dramatic close, the same Harmony sign from before made another appearance, cheerily prompting us to “come again soon.” To Harmony? Perhaps not, but to Bourne’s productions? Always.

The Car Man's stellar cast, photo courtesy of Johan Persson

The Car Man is coming to London’s Sadler’s
Wells starting July 14th until August 9th. Book here now to avoid disappointment.

[Author’s Note: On August 9th, before he was due to give his last performance as Luca in The Car Man,Jonathan Ollivier was tragically killed in a road accident. I was truly heartbroken to hear this news, especially having witnessed him perform so beautifully on stage. My thoughts are with Ollivier's family and the dancing community, who have suffered a monumental loss of an unforgettable talent.]